The Three-Pronged Rose
by yinyinAT
Summary: Finn has three girls in his life that have influenced him so dearly; but which one is the right one? im horrible at AN's, and this is my first fanfic. please review! I want to do well! rated t for now (for future violence or romance)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- Thinking**

Finn was looking out over the horizon on top of his tree house past the candy kingdom. The sun was setting, creating amazing and warm hues of red and violet and orange. the colors glinted off the crystal sprinkles tossed wildly on the roofs and walls on the buildings in the candy kingdom.

Finn was sitting there... Thinking. Just thinking. That's it. He'd usually be inclined to go out looking for someone to save, someone to kill, or someone to meet. But right now, he just wanted to think.

Jake stretched out the round window of the kitchen, climbing up and around the tree house to the top, where he found Finn.

"Hey, man, you've been up here for hours. And it's dinnertime, man! I even made you an everything burrito!" Jake said, trying to sound tempting enough for Finn to come down to dinner.

"No, man," Finn said with emptiness in his voice, "I'm not hungry."

"Come on, Finn! This isn't like you. Just come down from your moping and have at least a bite. You're gonna starve!"

But Finn didn't want to eat, no matter how hollow he felt or how many pangs of hunger he had. His feeling of confusion and sorrow for three women- three gorgeous, beautiful women in his life - Princess Bubblegum, Marceline Abadeer, and Flame Princess - overcame any of his physical need.

These three dames had had such an influence on him. Marceline was so cool, FP was so beautiful, and PB he had had a crush on for so long. Pink-haired, brainiac PB had rejected him because he was too young, but he still felt care and desire for her; Marceline, the vampire queen, was so cool and laid back, and with such a not-give-a-glob attitude, Finn liked her. Finn could lose control with that. But he was afraid her personality would reflect towards him, too: that she wouldn't care about his love for her; and Flame Princess - oh, man, Flame Princess - how could any boy not double take when they saw her? With her deep, crimson red hair and peachy-orange skin, with her complexion so flawless, she couldn't be considered anything but gorgeous. But they couldn't touch. They couldn't kiss. They couldn't even have children together, unless something miraculous was to happen. Either Finn would get burned, or the princess would destroy all of Ooo...

These three women were taking a toll on Finn, and it showed. Hours passed, and a content Jake, who had just finished his dinner, wrapped up the tree house again. It was late. The baby blue moon was big and bright, and high up in the sky. It was lighting up Ooo like a Christmas star, towering over all the buildings and people wrapped up in kingdoms- like presents.

"Mmm-mm! That was a good burrito... Wish you were there to have it with me!" Jake exclaimed. Finn didn't answer.

Jake examined Finn. He was slouched, with baggy eyes, being defeated by the Lich-like enemy called Sleep. Jake felt sorry, even though he thought Finn was being silly. After all, it was easy for him and Lady Rainacorn; why couldn't it be easy for Finn?

_"Everything is going to work out just fine,"_ the yellow-furred dog thought to himself, _"He'll find a way to sort it out, or things will find their own way. But I guess I'll be there for him, though, until just that happens."_

Jake reached out his hand just as Finn rocked back, his fatigue getting the better of him. Jake brought him inside, dressed him in his jammies, and slid him in his sleeping bag. Jake clambered in bed, and took one more look at Finn. He looked snug in it, Finn in his sleeping bag, filling in it up entirely. He looked so cozy. So peaceful. So untouchable. But, glob knows something was entirely different-

His mind was at war.

**End of chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2 - Dream

Chapter 2 - Dream

There was nothing but darkness. Everything was black, no light was anywhere. Finn put out his hand in front of him and looked at it. He couldn't see it. He felt a horrible sensation. He was drowning in a sea. Surprised, Finn looked up, or what he thought was up, and swam. He was losing air- he was seconds away from inhaling the black water. He strived for those last few seconds, to reach the surface. He couldn't do it. He breathed in, and the water came in, scorching the insides of his lungs and neck. He passed out with the horrid thought that he would be lost forever in the deep, dark abyss of a sea.

He woke up in a boat. He started spewing a black liquid out of his mouth. It looked so putrid that he threw up at the thought that that was inside of him.

"Are you alright?" A figure called from his right, hovered over him.

Finn jumped, and reached for his sword. It wasn't there.

"Looking for something? You won't find that sword here. This is the dream world," the figure explained, "I'm Happiness, and this sea that I pulled you out of is named Dismal. Many have been claimed by the sea, but I am the guardian of anybody who has the misfortune of falling into it."

Happiness was was a bright off-white, and kind of yellowish. It completely contrasted the Dismal Sea.

Finn thought about the three girls vividly. He was so deep in thought, that he barely heard happiness talk to him again.

"The Coast of Sadness is coming up- there I can go no further. You will meet a man named Courage. He will lead you on." Happiness explained again.

Finn thought about this, and when he came to terms, Happiness spoke again, "There is a war going on in your mind, with Love on one side and Hurt on the other. Both are fighting for Peace, but Hurt only wants to destroy her within you. This world reflects that. Many an emotion have been weakened by the conflict, and some may soon be demolished. This sea is only so deep and large because you have so much... Well, dismal. We are a hurting people, so you need to find peace in the real world and in here. You must do this to balance the power of all the emotions inside of you. When you wake, don't wait to make a move."

Happiness came upon the shore. The Coast of Sadness was a deep, royal blue. It was almost as dark as the sea. It reminded him of ice. But it wasn't cold; It was lukewarm: no comfort, no intense hurt.

"Here's where we get off. You will be waking up soon, so I need you to remember this- you need to go to the Ice King." Said Happiness.

"WWWHHAAAT? The Ice King? Are you crazy? How would he help with anything?" Finn yelled.

"He will help you," replied Happiness. "Here, I'll show you a Cosmic Owl- then you will believe."

As told, in that moment, the yellow bird appeared and screeched with a high howl. Then, it vanished.

"Oh, glob... Alright. What do I need to do?"

"Go to the ice kingdom. There, the Ice King will give you something to sort your feelings for the girls in your life."

"As you wish... But how does a deranged psychopath help me with girls? For Glob's sake, he kidnaps princesses! Constantly!" Finn exclaimed.

"You will see. Now leave. You cannot be on this boat when you wake up," Happiness said.

Finn got off into the dark water, and swam to the shore. He waved at the bright, departing figure, and he waved back.

There was a faint cry in the distance, and the world shook, "bid..." Both got bigger and louder, "Fidd..." he heard and felt them one more time, " FINN!" There was a flash of white, and Finn woke up with a start.

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

**AN - So, I've been thinking, and I'm going to try and do one per day - usually in the morning (if I'm not running late), or after three (when school gets out). I'm thinking I'm going to start doing interactions with the women in a couple of chapters, but I still don't know which girl is the "right" girl. All right, peace out, and enjoy chapter 3 – Waking Up**

Chapter 3 - Waking Up

"Who?!" Finn exclaimed as he felt arms shaking his shoulders.

"It's Jake!" The yellow dog exclaimed, "you were waving your arms in your sleep! I got worried!"

It was dark outside, but the first signs of light were appearing right outside the window, so Finn figured it was almost dawn.

"Oh, man Jake. I had the strangest dr... OH MY GLOB! Jake, I've got to go see Ice King!" Finn said as he jumped out of his sleeping bag and pushed off his pajamas.

"Wait, what!?" Jake exclaimed, "why in the heck would you want to see that son-of-a...gun... Ice King? And, dude- you don't have any underwear on..."

When he realized he was in his birthday suit around his roomy, Finn got really embarrassed with different shades of red all over his face. He covered himself the best he could, and scootched into the bathroom. When he bounced back out with his clothes on, he looked a little more relaxed.

"Why do you have to be so modest, Finn? It's alright, we're brothers!" Jake explained.

"Hehe, yeah I guess..." Finn said.

With that, Finn recalled the events in his dream: about him almost drowning in the Sea of Dismal, Happiness saving him, and the coast of sadness.

"How do you know it wasn't a messed up dream, and you really don't need to see Ice King?" Jake asked.

"Because... Happiness showed me a Cosmic Owl. Why would a Cosmic Owl show up if the dream wasn't real?" Said Finn.

Jake thought about this, _"Man, this kid really does need help. It must be real."_ "Alright, buddy, lets get you to the Ice Kingdom!" Jake exclaimed. And with that, they packed their things and were on their way.

**•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••**

Once they had gone about a mile, they had only been off for about a minute. Of course, Jake could grow so large he could cover a lot of land in a little amount of time (naturally).

In this moment, they were hovering over the dark forest when they heard a blood-curdling shriek! Jake and Finn took one glance at each other, and nodded in agreement. Jake dived towards the shriek, finding a little girl backed up against a tree. She had bubbly hair that looked like it had shimmers of rainbows. Her skin was totally different-it was baby blue, with the exception of a white liquid running down her shoulder- it looked like suds. Her dress was yellow and rubbery-looking, like it was stretched over her body. It was torn near the sudsy-looking liquid. Overall, she looked like a rubber ducky in a sink. You could say she would be called "Sink Princess." The girl was crying. Finn assumed she was the one who cried out and was attacked. Finn went over to her to comfort her without any other care in the world...

Just when Finn was about to reach her, Jake cried, "Look out!" Finn looked back towards Jake, confused. He was suddenly hit by a horrid claw- or what he thought it was a claw. Once he looked back at it, he realized it was one of those spongy, leafy looking things he saw in Marceline's bathroom... Ugh, how embarrassed he felt during that time he snuck in her closet. Finn thought it may have been called a loofah.

Before Finn could stand up again, he was picked up by one of those loofah-claw things. It raised him high, higher in the air. There, he finally saw what was happening.

The crying girl was now transforming into a giant crab-like creature, except it looked like it was made of water. It had two claws, with a huge mouth, and buggy eyes.

Finn froze. How could he have let himself get so careless? He let sympathy get in the way of a sense of danger. He passed out. Jake would have to take care of the monster on his own.

End of chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Courage

Finn woke up on the aqua blue glass that was the Coast of Sadness. Finn was still struggling with the fact he had let his guard down. He felt depressed. And the more he lay on the shore, the more the depression overcame him. He felt strange. He wanted to just... Give up. He decided to get in the water and just... Drown.

Before he could reach the water, a voice called out, booming, "DO YOU DARE TO GIVE UP IN THE MIDST OF A WAR?"

Finn was startled. He slowly looked over his shoulder to look at the figure that was calling him. The figure that was before him was a knight. The horse on which he rode was almost as big as he was, and that's saying something. He was twice as tall as Finn. His armor was made of shiny silver. His sheath, beautifully formed leather. His faceplate was open. He had a complexion of a grown man - or at least he was what they looked like in the Enchiridion. The knight had a yellow mustache as well.

"Who-who are you?" Finn stuttered.

"Why, I'm Courage! I've come to collect you and bring you through the Forest of Terror - the place I live and thrive. When terror is present, courage can always overcome him. This is the way of your mind and this world." Courage explained. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Oh... Well, there are these three girls, and..." Finn started.

"That was rhetorical. I'm a figment of your imagination. I know your thoughts. Here, let me give you some examples - Your mind shows me as large, as your courage is large. Also, Happiness was bright and radiant because you are so joyful! And, as Happiness said, the Dismal Sea is so large because of your dismay."

"Righteous!" Finn exclaimed. "Um, what does rhetorical mean?"

"As of right now, it doesn't matter. Now, to get you off the beach. I, alas, cannot step on the Coast of Sadness. Sadness resides when courage is lost. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve..." Courage said.

Courage unsheathed his sword- except it wasn't a sword. It was a small, bronze dagger.

"What can he do with that? He couldn't even cut off a head of an ogre with that!" Finn thought to himself.

As if the knight had read his mind, he started chanting words; brave words to his sword. Like magic, the sword stretched out. It was ten, twenty, thirty feet long! The knight brought it down on Finn. It was like the knight was bringing down the mighty sword to smite him. Finn flinched, expecting the sword to kill him. The sword never touched Finn, though. The sword just slid under his backpack and pulled Finn towards him.

"Wow! That IS one cool trick!" Finn thought to himself.

"Alright, here we GO!" Courage yelled.

Courage cracked the whip, and his horse was off like a rocket. The Forest of Terror was dark and mysterious, and had loud sounds that penetrated the sound of the clip-clop of the horse's hooves. Monsters would pop out every now and again, but courage would easily smite them with his sword that he made as long as he wanted.

"I shall be here with you for the most of the time you pop in and out of this dream world. But right now, you must be gone. Your dream body will be kept safe." Courage said.

"Cool!" Said Finn.

Courage turned his body around, while the horse dodged trees, roots, and rocks all around them. Courage touched Finn's forehead and a white hole appeared on it. It started spreading, and the horseman turned around and said his goodbyes. When the whiteness engulfed Finn, he woke up in the forest - with a scream of shock and happiness that reached him.

End of chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The Ice Kingdom and Gunther being Gunther

Finn woke up. He felt bruised all over, and a sharp pain fell over his shoulder: it was punctured deeply, but his arm was functioning, it just hurt.

The next thing he felt was a cold wet one. He heard a voice to his right-

"Finn! Are you all right? Oh, glob... Did you piss all over yourself?"

Finn looked down. There was water everywhere. His clothes were soaked, too. The water stretched at least three hundred feet all around, and was about 9 inches deep. If Finn did this... Well, what-the-glob would be an appropriate response.

"Haha, I'm just messin' with ya. The monster turned into water when it died." Jake told. "Hey, man. What happened back there? i mean, you just went up to her without even another care! You've got to be more careful."

Finn blushed and apologized. "I don't know what came over me. I was like, my sympathy got over my common sense.

•••••••••••••

In dream world, a scream for help goes out. Then, immediately, it stops. Out of the house of a middle class citizen came a nice little girl. She pranced and skipped away from whence she came.

When the authorities got to the house, there were only whimpers from the proud ideal: Common Sense. On the wall had the same little girl- the assassin named Sympathy. She had taken the side of Hate, feeling he had a better chance against Love. She disguises herself as a little girl, but is ferocious on the inside. Common Sense would be made hospitalized for a couple of hours- after this, he was completely back to normal, after all, and common sense easily recovers to make better choices later.

•••••••••••

"Alright, man, i forgive you. but dude, you should have been there at the battle! I turned my hand into a sword! I even sliced its arm off, and then stabbed it through its chest! I was able to save your fall when it dropped you, but not from when it started to stab you there," said Jake as he pointed to Finn's shoulder," And, of course, it was able to send me about a hundred feet that away-" Jake said. He pointed off to an opening in the forest- it was snowy!

"Sweet, man! The Ice Kingdom!" Finn said. "Let's get going!" But as soon as he tried to get up, blood splattered out of his wound. It mixed in with the muddy water, making it turn into a burnt-orange color.

"Hold on there, chief. That hole in your shoulder needs to be fixed up. We should go visit Princess Bubblegum and Doctor Princess." Jake said.

"No, man! I can't go there! Happiness said I couldn't wait to see Ice King! Just wrap something on there and let's get going!" Finn yelled.

As Finn tried to get up again, Jake  
Pushed him back down. Jake made restraints for Finn, and strapped him down.

"Jake! Please! I... I can't see her yet..."

"Well why in glob not?"

"Because... I don't think I can see her without the thing Happiness told me to get..." Finn said, in finality.

Suddenly, Finn felt the restraints lift, and a piece of cloth being wrapped around his arm. Finn relaxed, and thanked Jake. In reality, Jake thought Finn was being crazy. How could a figment of Finn's imagination be right about something in the real world? But Jake just let it go, trying to help out his buddy. If he thinks it will help, maybe it will.

"Just remember, as soon as we get what that crazy Ice Goober has for you, we're gonna get your arm fixed up right. OK?" Jake interrogated.

Finn nodded, and they were of. Finn was on top of Jake's large body, holding on while the large dog bounded over mountaintops and valleys until they reached the Ice King's home. The friendly duo went up the winding path. The air was cold, and the atmosphere was eerie. This was so much so, that when Gunther let out a loud "QUACK!" behind them, it almost made Finn and Jake fall off the side of the path.

"Globdangit, Guther! You scared us half to death!" Finn exclaimed.

Gunther just let out a quack again.

"Finn, watch your language!" Accused Jake.

"What? You do it all the time!"

Gunther started pointing forward, and let out more quacks. The heroes didn't pay attention. They were too busy arguing.

Gunther was trying to look more urgent by rocking back and forth and quacking faster. Finn and Jake still didn't listen.

Gunter made one more final attempt, and let out the loudest quack if a Gunther could quack-

"QUUUUUAAAAAAACK!" It was so loud, the heroes jumped back even more than last time.

"Glob, Gunther! What is it?" The duo said simultaneously.

Gunther just pointed behind them. They both just turned around in time to see the two ice lightning bolts heading straight for them. In less than a second, they were frozen in place.

End of chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6 - the three pronged rose

Chapter 6 - The Three-Pronged Rose

Finn and Jake were encapsulated In ice. It covered their entire bodies. They became so cold that they started to feel numb. The only thing they could do was see and hear.

They were inside the mountain. Ice King was laughing. He had finally captured Finn! Now he could never foil his evil plots to steal princesses!

"Muahahahahahahaha! This is so fun! Don't you think so, Gunther?" Ice King asked.

"Quack," is all Gunther said.

"I knew you would, Gunther! Hey, I know. This calls for some ice cream and a..." Ice king said as he turned around and pulled something out of his pocket. He whipped around and continued, "jam session!"

Ice King now had a black wig on his head now. Finn thought to himself. What does he think he's doing?

Ice King started to sing in a scratchy, squeaky tune:

Gunther, do you even love me?  
Well I wouldn't Gunther it,  
Cause you never Gunther it...

The ice king sang fry song for about three minutes, of course replacing most of the verbs with 'Gunther'.

How the glob did Ice King know about that? I thought that I was the only one Marceline had shown that song to! And does he not think we can hear him?

Ice King, feeling defiant, went up to the Finn and Jake 'statues', and said, "I know you can't see or hear anything I'm doing. I love doing this!"

What an idiot.

Ice King, after a few hours, finally unfroze the faces of Finn and Jake. He wanted answers.

"So, now that I've had my fun, which you'll never know about, what were you doing in the Ice Kingdom?" The Ice King interrogated.

Finn hesitated, but then decided to tell him, "Well, I had a dream. And in my dream, a man told me to come to you."

"HA! Why would you *ever* want my help?" The Ice king asked.

"Because," Finn started, solemnly, "I like, or maybe even love somebody. I don't know. I just, feel all mushy and gushy inside, but I don't know who it's with."

"Oh, I see. A helpless romantic, I see..." Ice King said. He thought for a little while, "Alright, I'll help you."

"Wait... Just like that? Nothing else? I don't need to do anything for you?" Finn wondered out loud.

"Nope! You remind me of me. After all, aren't I always looking for love? I have to help you out. It's only fair," Ice King explained.

Ice King unfroze both of them completely.

"Mathematical!" Finn and Jake said simultaneously.

"So, how many girls are you in love with?

"Three," Finn said calmly.

"Three!? Wow, you are desperate!"

"I'm not desperate!"

"Ok, ok, Mr. Hot Shot! Whatever you say." Ice king said. Ice King led Finn and Jake down a corridor. They went down a couple of hallways, and finally came to a room. It had a big, black pot in the middle, with odds and ends things in the room, like goblin hair, goat eyes, and toad warts.

"What is this place?" Asked Jake.

"Why, it's my cauldron room! I make special potions and such here," the Ice King answered.

"Oh," Finn and Jake said.

Ice King went to the cauldron. He filled it with water, and a couple of spices and herbs. Ice King then prepared a fire underneath the pot, and soon it was boiling. It was quite steamy, and was bubbling rapidly.

"All right, lets get started. I'm going to need something from each of the ladies you like," Ice King explained.

"Uhh... I think I can get something. But why?" Finn asked.

"I just need something that has their DNA. What do you have? Just remember, you can't get it back..." Ice King told.

Finn thought. It was difficult to give something up. He decided, though, that he needed to so this. After he gave up something, he would get a girl back. And it will be the right one.

"Ok. Here is a lock of Princess Bubblegum's hair," Finn said as he gave the stringy gum to Ice King.

"Ooohhh! Bubblegum! Oh, you are one risky mister! She is so hard to get. Mainly because you always foil my plots, but oh, well."

Ice King added the hair to the pot. The bubbly water turned into a pink and white color, with some sprinkles all around in it.

"Ok, next thing," Finn said. He pulled on a necklace around its neck with one fang strung to it. "This is Marceline's. She gave it to me after one of our more... Heart-felt jamming sessions."

"Yuck! Marceline? Why would you want to be with her?" Ice King asked.

Finn just gave him a look that said, "Don't you mess with me! I know who I like!"

"Ok, ok! Whatever you want," said Ice King. Ice King put the necklace into the pot. It pushed away Princess Bubblegum's essence, and the water became a deep, dark red. But then Bubblegum's color came back, and they both took half of the cauldron.

"All right, one more," Ice King told.

Finn thought. He didn't have anything from Flame Princess...

"Here, Finn. There is a price of charred rubble on your shoulder. Who else's could it be besides Flame Princess?" Jake piped.

"Righteous!" Finn exclaimed. He eagerly handed over the pebble to Ice King.

"Who's Flame Princess? I don't think I've heard of her..." Ice King wondered out loud.

"It doesn't matter," both Finn and Jake said.

"Ok, fine."

When ice king put in the pebble, the color pushed away the other essences- just as the others had. The color, in this case, was an orange-red, just like FP's hair. It then receded, and all three colors became equal in the pot.

"Ok. Time to work my magic!" The Ice King enthusiastically yelled.

Ice king went to a flowerbed underneath a heat lamp. It held many types of flowers, like daisies, rapes, chrysanthemums, and most of all - roses. Ice King cut a rose, and then proceeded to toss it into the cauldron.

The next things that happened were quite astounding. First, the cauldron became to rumble and bubble even more than it had already.

"What's happening?" Finn asked the Ice King.

The Ice King just smiled and said, " You'll see!"

Next, the cauldron began to give off immense light. It was like it exploded in all directions. It was bright, but not quite painful to look at. Lastly, all the colors in the pot began to swirl. They then receded into the center of the pot, like an unknown force was sucking them in. Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped.

Ice King walked over to the black pot. He took out wired, metal tongs. He reached in, and took out an object. The object [/had the colors that were originally inside the pot in equal parts of it. It was a rose.

A three-pronged rose.

End of chapter 6 - The Three-Pronged Rose

Yay! The rose finally comes! You are also welcome for the long chapter! I'll explain the rose in the next chapter. As an update, I'm feeling a little rushed because of school, and I don't want the quality of my chapters to go down. So, I'm going to update the chapters every other day, and not on weekends (hopefully).

Hope you liked the chapter, and see you the next!

-YinyinAT


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